India October Exports Hit Record $49.47 Billion; Goods Deficit Widens

India October exports figures released on Friday, November 13, show merchandise shipments climbing to a record $49.47 billion, about 45 per cent higher than a year earlier.

Combined exports of goods and services rose 29.9 per cent year-on-year to $89.99 billion, the highest monthly total on record, according to the Commerce and Industry Ministry. A sharp rise in the import bill, however, pushed the merchandise trade deficit to a one-year high of $39.88 billion.

“India recorded its highest-ever monthly goods exports in October 2026,” Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said while releasing the data, Reuters reported.

Key numbers from India October exports data

Merchandise exports rose 45.06 per cent from $34.11 billion in October 2025 and were 11.4 per cent higher than September’s $44.40 billion.

Goods imports increased to $89.35 billion in October from $74.61 billion in September and $76.69 billion a year earlier. The resulting merchandise trade deficit of $39.88 billion exceeded the $32.25 billion forecast in a Reuters poll and was wider than September’s $30.21 billion, though it stayed below the record set in October 2025.

Services softened the blow. Services exports were estimated at $40.51 billion and imports at $20.72 billion, leaving a surplus of $19.79 billion. As a result, the overall trade deficit for goods and services narrowed to $20.09 billion from $25.15 billion in October 2025.

Total imports of goods and services rose to $110.07 billion from $94.42 billion a year earlier. For April–October, combined exports rose 16.66 per cent to $568.84 billion, while combined imports grew 16 per cent to $662.19 billion, widening the cumulative trade deficit to $93.35 billion from $83.25 billion, Reuters reported. The ministry’s cumulative figures were also reported by All India Radio.

Shipments to the United States, India’s largest export market, rose to $59.52 billion in April–October from $51.99 billion a year earlier, a trade ministry official said.

Why the merchandise trade deficit widened

Gold imports more than tripled to $5.51 billion from $1.8 billion in September as buyers stepped up purchases before Diwali, Reuters reported. Imports of petroleum products, mainly crude, rose 54.31 per cent year-on-year to $22.82 billion amid elevated oil prices linked to the conflict in the Middle East.

India imports nearly 85 per cent of its crude needs. Brent crude has since eased to around $95 a barrel, according to Reuters, but prices at that level keep pressure on the import bill even as exports grow.

What it means for Indian business and what comes next

For exporters, the October numbers suggest demand held up despite volatile global markets. Officials have credited the growth to efforts to diversify export markets and new trade agreements with the UK and New Zealand, with a trade deal with the European Union expected to take effect early next year.

The wider goods deficit, however, matters for the current account and the currency. Companies with large import bills, such as refiners and jewellers, and firms with foreign-currency borrowings will watch the rupee closely in the coming weeks.

The trade data arrives alongside other signs of strong activity. October’s GST collections rose 22.9% to ₹2.31 lakh crore on festive demand, while foreign investors have kept buying Indian equities, as tracked in our report on FPI inflows into Nifty and Sensex stocks.

Also Read: October Retail Inflation Rises to 6.09%, Breaches RBI’s Upper Band | RBI Hikes Repo Rate by 25 bps to 5.5%, First Increase Since 2023

The key test now is whether export momentum holds after the festive and pre-Christmas shipping season. November trade data is expected in mid-December.

The direction of crude oil prices and gold demand will largely decide how far the merchandise deficit eases. Exporters will also track demand in the US, which accounted for close to $60 billion of India’s exports in the first seven months of the fiscal year, and the progress of India-US trade talks, which Agrawal described as “on the right track.”